Confronting Drunk Driving

The author of this book argues that drunk driving is more than just a criminal issue. He offers a practical approach to the problem of drunk driving, one that combines criminal deterence with other efforts to reduce the number of deaths caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol.

This unique volume discusses research, policy, and treatment approaches to one of America’s most serious problems--the drunk driver. The authors--many of the countries most dedicated professionals from academic, research, correctional, public health, and judicial system backgrounds--present an extraordinary array of creative and thought-provoking approaches to the drunk driver. Their thorough descriptions will help you better understand the drunk driver, and their exploration of new sentencing and treatment strategies provides a comprehensive look at the options to confronting and solving the problem of alcohol and traffic safety in the United States. Chapters challenge many long-held assumptions about those who drink and drive; address policy issues; examine the need for culturally specific education and training programs for police, court officials, and human service providers; and offer helpful suggestions for designing programs for women and adolescent offenders.

This guide presents detailed descriptions of potentially effective approaches to preventing impaired driving by college students due to alcohol abuse. Chapter 1 provides an overview of alcohol-impaired driving and discusses changes in public attitudes, the scope of the problem, involvement of teens and young adults, and the challenge of reaching college students. Chapter 2, on increasing awareness, discusses typical awareness messages, national awareness programs ("Students Against Driving Drunk" and "Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students" (BACCHUS)), and designing awareness messages for young adults. A chapter on alternative transportation programs reviews the designated driver program and safe ride programs. Next, a review of responsible beverage service programs includes the "Training for Intervention Procedures by Servers of Alcohol" (TIPS) program, and the "Stanford Community Responsible Hospitality Project". Deterrence strategies to prevent alcohol-impaired driving are discussed in the fifth chapter and include use of sobriety checkpoints, controlling student access to alcohol, and school-imposed penalties. The final chapter is a call for public action. Appendices provide a Risk Assessment Form from the Stanford project, sources of other information and resources, and a list of publications. (MAH)

Written primarily for alcohol & other drug prevention coordinators at postsecondary institutions & for other campus administrators who are interested in implementing, improving, or expanding impaired driving prevention programs. Presents detailed descriptions of potentially effective approaches to preventing impaired driving: increasing general awareness, alternative transportation programs, responsible beverage service programs, deterrence strategies for preventing alcohol-impaired driving, & calling for public action. Risk assessment form. Resource section.

Preventing Drunk Driving shows what is being done today, in research and practice, to reduce impaired driving and the fatalities and injuries it produces and to curtail the spread of this tragic social epidemic. In this informative book, you’ll discover how current research and prevention programs are increasing the success of designated driver programs. You’ll also find out how communities, friends, and experts are making drinkers aware of their levels of intoxication and discouraging them from driving to keep the roads safer. You’ll see when intervention works, when it doesn’t, and how you can be most effective as a citizen in the fight against impaired driving deaths along your own stretch of the world’s highways and city streets. In Preventing Drunk Driving, you’ll get up-to-date data on how researchers are identifying the most dangerous drunk driving recidivists. Also, you’ll see how increased study and research have led to theoretical models of intervention, assessments of the usefulness of vehicle interlock programs, and the use of mapping to target offenders most at risk. Most importantly, you’ll learn: the results of experiments designed to test methods of increasing designated driving how census-tract mapping can target communities prone to DWI offenses the benefits and limitations of vehicle-interlock devices for the prevention of recidivism how interveners may improve their chances of stopping an impaired person from getting behind the wheel ways that blood alcohol concentration (BAC) feedback stations can reduce DUI incidents“Give me the keys.” “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” These are all sayings we’ve heard--but what are the scientific facts about impaired driving and its prevention in our local communities and neighborhoods? Preventing Drunk Driving analyzes the societal ill of driving under the influence of alcohol and its related death toll from a wide variety of angles.

Behind each policy debate over welfare reform, AIDS funding, and hate crime laws are the people struggling with poverty, illness, and discrimination. While the experts cite statistics and employ rhetoric about drug abuse, crime, and child abuse, individuals confront the horrors of addiction and the trauma of victimization. Greenhaven Press's Social Issues Firsthand series illuminates the often-neglected human side of society's pressing problems. Each anthology presents a collection of personal narratives on a featured social issue. Contributors include those who have had personal experience with the topic under discussion-either as a participant, a witness, or an involved professional. For example, Terrorism includes the perspectives of terrorists, victims, families of victims, and emergency workers. Additional features include an introduction that provides each book with essential context, a thorough bibliography, a list of organizations to contact, an annotated table of contents, and a thorough index. Each book in the Social Issues Firsthand series will provide readers with a personal context for the most pressing topics of today's political discussions. Book jacket.

Written by an educator and a national authority on ethics and featuring detailed real-life case studies, this volume outlines the relationship between ethical practices and school success.